Adele Becomes First Artist in a Decade to Certify 10 Million Sales in Less Than Two Years With '21'

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today awarded Adele with a Diamond certification recognizing more than 10 million U.S. sales of "21" (XL Recordings/Columbia, 2011) as part of the RIAA's historic Gold & Platinum Program.

Cary Sherman, Chairman & CEO, RIAA said the following about the prestigious award:

"We are thrilled to honor Adele with an RIAA Diamond award marking her enormous '21' sales success. Selling more than 10 million albums in the United States, in less than two years, is an achievement unparalleled by any other artist in the past decade, let alone just a few in all of history. Adele's unique talent is a gift to music fans, and her success is certainly cause for a celebration of Diamond magnitude."

Officially launched in 1958, the RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program expanded in 1999 to include a Diamond award honoring U.S. sales of 10 million or more copies of an album or single. The list of more than 100 Diamond titles, across all genres of music, represent some of the best and most influential sound recordings in history. Diamond honors awarded to The Beatles, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, The Eagles, Eminem, Michael Jackson, Kid Rock, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Shania Twain, Usher and more represent an audio almanac of the last 50+ years.

In addition to earning Diamond honors for her sophomore album "21," Adele's first record "19" (2008) is currently RIAA 2x multi-Platinum, while her digital single certifications represent more than 19 million song downloads sold in the U.S. spanning eight separate songs.